February 2016

February 05, 2016

The 2016 Iowa caucus is history and the primary season will shortly be in full swing. Next stop New Hampshire on February 9th. If it was up to me, political campaigns would not be allowed til after Labor Day, the year of the actual election. It's obviously not up to me so I'll just mention a few songs that greedy congressmen and presidential aspirants should pay attention to. Of course they won't. But almost all of them will profess to be good Christians, defending us against Muslims, gays and anyone else different they can use to distract public attention from their greedy ways. The legalized bribery known as lobbying is rampant.

Tim McGraw's new single, "Humble and Kind", is getting a lot of positive attention. The song, penned solely by Lori McKenna, has some great advice:

"Hold the door say please say thank you Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie (see politifact, factcheck.org, etc. - fact checkers on politicians) I know you got mountains to climb but Always stay humble and kind (appropriately, the instrumentation on this song does not include a trumpet) When those dreams you're dreamin' come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble and kind"

and

"When you get where you're goin Don't forget turn back around Help the next one in line Always stay humble and kind"

These pols like to trumpet their achievements - which are often highly exaggerated if not outright lies. Note a recent "five myths" article in WaPo regarding one of the leading candidates for President.

If you believe that politicians never deliberately lie, stop reading right now. You're hopeless. While it is sometimes by omission, taking statements out of context, etc., almost all politicians stretch the truth. Maybe that's one of the reasons that the approval rating of Congress, aka the millionaire's club, has been hovering in the 10 to 15% range for quite some time. Ethics is not their strong suit. I liked the woman in the Occupy movement of a few years ago who had a sign that read something like "I'm carrying this sign because I can't afford to buy a congressman".

This situation is not new:

I'm sure that many readers are familiar with this famous quote from Mark Twain:

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress".

Ambrose Bierce in his "Devil's Dictionary" defined politics as

"n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." (The Devil's Dictionary can be found on-line.)

In an ultimateclassicrock.com interview about his great Cass County album, Henley addresses climate change denial in "Praying for Rain": "there's still a lot of denial in the face of trainloads of science. Overwhelming science. A consensus in the world scientific community among scientists who are legitimate and respected. And yet, the seeds of doubt have been planted by certain corporations and their allies in Congress. There have been millions of dollars poured into sowing the seeds of doubt." In the next paragraph he continues "the most important lines in that song are the ones that come shortly after the ones you just quoted, I think, which says "It isn't knowledge, It's humility we lack". It seems that we have so much hubris, that we're so much arrogant and insecure, that certain people not only in this country, but all over the world just can't say the words, "We made a mistake". Or a series of mistakes. It's just like the politicians: "Well, I didn't make a mistake. I've just been misunderstood." The entire interview is well worth reading.

Another song on Cass County, "Too Much Pride" (Steuart Smith, Stan Lynch & Don Henley), speaks of humility's opposite.

"How many dreams have bloomed and died, Too much pride" and "How many tender loves has vanity cost?".

Finally, the title song from the late Kevin Sharp's debut album, Measure of a Man, was not released as a single but remains a favorite of mine. Kevin was a motivational speaker and worked with the Make a Wish Foundation.

Kevin Sharp - Measure of a Man (Larry Boone & Rick Bowles)

"It ain’t how far you go It ain’t how much you make Son, it’s what you give Not what you take (ignore the wishes of your constituents, take those $$$ from that lobbyist) It’s being strong and true To those counting on you It’s lendin’ a hand, makin’ a stand That’s the measure of a man"